Accuracy
Every factual claim — every date, quotation, attribution — should check out against a primary or reputable secondary source. When a source is uncertain, I say so. When I don't know, I say so.
Sourcing
For Paine's words, I work from the four-volume Conway Edition (1900–1902), edited by Clinton P. Farrell. For biography, I rely on Larson's American Infidel (1962), Jacoby's Filthy Little Atheist (2013), and Kittredge's The Life of Thomas Paine (1911). I cite the newspaper, letter, or memoir when I quote a contemporary account, and link to it when I can.
Fidelity to the text
I transcribe Paine exactly as printed. Archaic spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are preserved. Anything I add goes in square brackets. I do not modernize, paraphrase, or silently correct the record.
The transcription on this site is drawn from the Project Gutenberg e-text of the Conway Edition. Accuracy is still being verified — I'm working through the corpus to confirm each work against the printed source. Corrections appear in each work's revision history (see /errata/).
His words and mine
Anything written by Paine is labelled and preserved word for word. Anything written about him — biographical pages, blog, introductions, FAQ — is mine, and signed. I don't blur the two.
Conflicts of interest
Non-commercial project. No advertising, no sponsorship, no payment for coverage. Contributors disclose material conflicts.
Corrections
If you find an error — wrong date, misattribution, typo, broken link — tell me. I'll fix it, commit the change, and it will appear in the public Git history at github.com/jonajinga/filthy-little-atheist. For corrections to a transcribed work, the per-work revision page at /works/<slug>/history/ shows every recorded change with date and commit hash.
Opposing views
Paine was a polemicist, and many of his essays argue fiercely against religious doctrine. I present them as he wrote them. My own commentary treats his contemporaries and opponents fairly, including his critics. Ridicule in his prose stays; ridicule in mine doesn't.
Public-domain stewardship
Paine's writings belong to everyone. I claim no copyright over them. My commentary is released under Creative Commons Attribution, so anyone can quote, reuse, or adapt it with credit.
Who I am
An independent editor. Not affiliated with any religious, political, or advocacy organization. If that ever changes, I'll say so here.
Questions, corrections, or objections — write to me.